Japan's Sengoku Period: The Sanada Clan's Ambition

Chapter 12 The Enemy is at Honnoji!
The tenth year of Tianzheng, June 1st.

Tanba, Kameyama Castle.

Akechi Mitsuhide got up very early, and after washing up, he went to the palace of Kameyama Castle.

Akechi Hidemitsu, Akechi Mitsutada, Mizono Shigeaki, and others had been waiting for a long time.

When Akechi Mitsuhide, with red-rimmed eyes, entered the palace, Akechi Hidemitsu quickly said, "My lord, the army has been assembled and is ready to go into battle at any time!"

"Hmm." Mitsuhide Akechi responded casually, looking tired, and then sat down and stared blankly.

Seeing Mitsuhide Akechi's appearance, the people below exchanged glances, wondering what was wrong with him.

After a long pause, Akechi Mitsuhisa slowly spoke, "I just received a message from Mori Ranmaru. Our lord wishes to inspect the army in Kyoto, so we must go to Kyoto first."

"Going to Kyoto?"

"Why so suddenly? We weren't notified beforehand," the retainers said, puzzled.

Mitsuhide Akechi said slowly, "I just received the news. My lord has ordered that we must not delay for a moment and must set out immediately."

"what!"

Soon, an army of 13,000 men set out from Kameyama Castle and headed towards the capital.

After marching for a short while, Akechi Mitsuhide suddenly halted the troops and then summoned his trusted retainers to hold a military council.

Sitting in his main camp, Akechi Mitsuhide's gaze swept over his retainers one by one.

After a moment of silence, Mitsuhide Akechi stood up from his seat.

The 55-year-old Akechi Mitsuhide raised his military pistol, pointed it towards Kyoto, and uttered a few words softly: "The enemy is at Honnoji!"

June 2nd, early morning.

Before dawn, Oda Nobunaga was suddenly awakened at Honnoji Temple, where he was staying.

After a short while, it became too noisy outside.

"Ranmaru!"

"What's all this noise outside?" Oda Nobunaga shouted angrily towards the outside. Anyone would be unhappy to be woken up from their sleep.

Mori Ranmaru pushed open the door, knelt at the entrance, and replied, "I have already sent someone to inquire."

On this trip to Kyoto, Oda Nobunaga was accompanied by only about 20 pageboys. He did not intend to stay in Kyoto for long and would soon set off for Shikoku to conquer the Chosokabe clan.

Just as I was about to lie down again, the noise outside grew louder and louder.

boom!
boom!
boom!
A sudden, urgent sound rang out, and Oda Nobunaga jumped up from the tatami mat.

As a daimyo who had led troops in battle for a long time, he knew all too well what that sound meant.

"Where did that cannon fire come from?"

"My lord, something terrible has happened! Honnoji Temple has been attacked!" A young servant, wounded in the shoulder and clutching his bleeding left arm, staggered over.

Oda Nobunaga was immediately enraged, "This is treason!"

"Who has the audacity to attack me?"

The young woman gasped for breath and said with a look of horror, "Kikyo pattern, the whole outside is covered in Kikyo pattern."

Oda Nobunaga's expression changed, and he couldn't help but take two steps back.

He raised his hand high, then let it fall limply. "So it was a wise move. In that case, I can only accept my fate."

Although Oda Nobunaga found it incredible, he did not show any panic.

Since inheriting the family headship, he has experienced countless betrayals.

His brother, his brother-in-law, and his most trusted retainer.
"I'll hold the gate with my men, my lord, you must leave here quickly!" Mori Ranmaru shouted.

Oda Nobunaga shook his head. "With his wisdom and ability, once he has decided to betray me, he will not leave me any way out."

"Even if we leave Honnoji Temple, where can we escape to?"

"Bring me my bow!" Oda Nobunaga pulled off his coat, standing shirtless in front of the door.

Mori Ranmaru dared not disobey orders and could only find a bow for Oda Nobunaga.

At this moment, the Akechi army had already broken through the outermost defensive line of Honnoji Temple, and it was impossible for a dozen or so pagemen to stop them. While firing an arrow, Oda Nobunaga said to Mori Ranmaru beside him, "Set it on fire! I, Oda Nobunaga, must not die at the hands of my retainers!"

"understand!"

Soon, a raging fire broke out all around Honnoji Temple.

The fire spread quickly, and soon the inner hall of Honnoji Temple was engulfed in flames.

Oda Nobunaga stepped on the broken longbow on the ground, picked up a spear, and stabbed several more Akechi family foot soldiers who tried to approach.

Only after the fire was completely out of control did Oda Nobunaga finally lay down his weapon and sit down calmly.

Fifty years in this world feel like a dream.

After saying this, Oda Nobunaga committed suicide.

The fire was too intense, and the Ming family dared not rush in; they could only retreat and wait for the fire to be extinguished.

Mitsuhide Akechi, mounted on his horse, looked at Honnoji Temple engulfed in flames with a complex expression.

Meanwhile, at Myokakuji Temple, not far from Honnoji Temple, Oda Nobutada also received news of the attack on Honnoji Temple.

His instinct was to head to Honnoji Temple to rescue Oda Nobunaga, but as soon as he stepped out of Myokakuji Temple, he found that the streets outside were full of foot soldiers from the Akechi clan.

Oda Nobutada only had a few dozen men with him, so charging forward like that would be tantamount to suicide.

At this moment, Murai Sadakatsu, who was serving as the Kyoto Shojidai (governor), approached Oda Nobutada and said in utter despair, "Honno-ji Temple is completely surrounded by the Akechi Army, and a raging fire has broken out inside. My lord... I'm afraid he is already..."

"That despicable Akechi Mitsuhide! I will kill him with my own hands!" Oda Nobutada was consumed by rage and immediately drew his sword to fight Akechi's army to the death.

Murai Sadamatsu was still relatively clear-headed. Oda Nobunaga was dead, and Oda Nobutada could not be allowed to be in trouble.

He couldn't even imagine the chaos that would ensue if the head of the Oda clan and his heir were to die at the same time.

"Young Master, the Nijō Palace next door is exceptionally well-fortified. Why don't we head there for temporary refuge?"

"You must survive in order to gather an army and avenge our lord!"

Murai Sadakatsu's words brought Oda Nobutada back to his senses, so he quickly led his men to Nijo Palace.

However, the Akechi family soon spotted Oda Nobutada and his group, and quickly surrounded the Nijō Palace.

The Nijō Palace had just been renovated and resembled a small fortress. Although the Akechi army was numerous and powerful, they were unable to take down the Nijō Palace for the time being.

Upon receiving the news, Akechi Hidemitsu personally rushed to Nijō Palace to direct the battle. After being repelled four or five times in a row, Akechi Hidemitsu had no choice but to think of another way.

After looking around, Akechi Hidemitsu suddenly noticed that two houses in the Konoe Residence north of Nijō Palace were higher than the palace walls. He quickly led his arquebusiers into Konoe Sakihisa's residence.

Konoe Sakihisa was now like a frightened bird, thinking that the rebels had come to kill him, and he hid in the house, too afraid to come out.

However, Akechi Hidemitsu completely ignored Konoe Sakihisa and climbed onto the roof, quickly revealing the entire situation inside the Nijo Palace.

"Fire!" Akechi Mitsuhide quickly spotted Oda Nobutada and his men blocking the entrance to Nijō Palace and immediately ordered his foot soldiers to attack.

boom!
boom!
boom!
Hundreds of foot soldiers stood on the roof of Konoe Sakihisa and fired indiscriminately into the Nijo Palace. Soon, Oda Nobutada and others inside the Nijo Palace suffered heavy casualties.

Upon witnessing this, Oda Nobutada also gave up resistance. After giving a brief explanation, he committed seppuku.

Soon, a raging fire broke out inside the Nijo Palace.

The towering flames dyed the sky red, and the entire city of Kyoto was captivated by the fires at Honnoji Temple and Nijo Palace.

June 2, the tenth year of Tianzheng.

Oda Nobunaga, the head of the Oda clan, and his son Oda Nobutada were attacked in Kyoto by their retainer Akechi Mitsuhide and both died.

　There are many conflicting accounts regarding the reasons why Akechi Mitsuhide launched the Honnoji Incident, and no single explanation has been convincing.

　　This is also related to the lack of relevant historical materials.

　　As Kira mentioned before, there are no official records of ancient Japanese history. Most of it has been passed down through correspondence and diaries. The people who wrote these diaries often did so to elevate their family's status, so their authenticity remains to be verified.

　　Therefore, regarding Honnoji Temple, this chapter will only briefly describe what happened, without explaining the reasons for Akechi Mitsuhide's betrayal.

　　This is also difficult to explain.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)